


Complacency

by Lalenapeike



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Double Drabble, Gen, Gen Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 04:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/569155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalenapeike/pseuds/Lalenapeike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. “Honestly, who joins Starfleet because they're annoyed with their boyfriend?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Complacency

She still wasn’t sure if this wasn’t all a monumentally stupid idea. “Honestly, who joins Starfleet because they’re annoyed with their boyfriend?” she grumbled to herself. The ship shuddered violently and consoles sparked around her. Christine Chapel had been on the Enterprise for about twenty minutes and sickbay had just erupted into chaos. She had little time to think about it though, as casualty reports began to pour in from all over the ship. Grabbing a med-kit and several younger nurses she headed for Deck Six. 

This certainly hadn’t been where she had seen herself several years ago. Christine had been assisting Roger Korby in his research for three years and dating him for two, when two Starfleet officers came to give a talk at their Department. Starfleet was low on medical personnel and looking for people with sufficient background to recruit into positions aboard starships. The younger officer, a Commander with red hair spoke of exploration, the unique experiences and how they would see things they could never imagine. Roger had rolled his eyes at this point and gone back to check on something in the lab. 

The next speaker stressed the importance of peacekeeping and making a difference in Starfleet and then opened the floor to questions. It was interesting, but she wanted to hear something more real. Christine found her hand going up despite herself, “Why did you join? How do you know that you’re right for this?” 

After considering her question, the Captain responded, “Because it’s a chance to get out there. There’s always the choice of sitting back and letting someone else make the tough decisions, discover the new places. But if everyone were complacent, nothing would get done. He paused then, looking straight at her. This job isn’t for everyone, but if it is for you it’s damn more rewarding than anything else you will ever do.” 

It had been one word that had hit her particularly hard, “complacent.” At first glance, everything in her life was going well. But a general feeling of unease had doubled since listening to the recruiting pitch earlier. Christine was beginning to feel that she had lost track of herself somewhere along the way. She had been helping out with Roger’s research for so long that her own had fallen by the wayside. They socialized primarily with Roger’s friends and colleagues. She’d even dyed her hair when she found out Roger preferred blondes. Her mother had been thrilled that her daughter had finally landed such a successful man. Her old life had slipped away bit by bit and at some point Christine had just let it go. 

When she broached the idea to Roger later that evening her first thought was that he might be concerned. She’d thought he might worry about the stretches of time they would be separated or the dangers involved, but instead he’d grimly asked how she could even think of abandoning the study at this important juncture. That had been the final straw. Christine contacted Captain Pike the next day to submit her application. 

It took Roger all of two days to find a new assistant. The young brunette was soft-spoken and very eager to please. While packing up her things Christine realized that Anastasia, or whatever her name was, had replaced her in all aspects of Roger’s life. 

Three years later, standing in sickbay as the Enterprise limped back toward Earth, Christine finally had a moment to breathe. She was splattered in several crewmen’s blood, the ship was a mess and she was pretty sure her new boss was slightly insane, but Christine was smiling. It may have been an impulse decision, but for the first time in awhile she had made one that mattered.


End file.
